Focusing on the past isn’t a great way to live, but I saw this idea when I was looking for inspiration, and I thought it could be interesting to try and come up with a list of things I regret doing or not doing.
The first one I can think of is that I regret not getting a double major or a minor when I was in college. I have an English degree, and I wish I’d double majored in Psychology or Communications. I would have a lot more doors open if I’d done that.
I regret not taking organ lessons all four years of college. I didn’t take Organ until my last semester in college, and it was an amazing class. I learned a lot and I grew so much in my organ playing. I can’t help but think about what kind of organist I could be if I’d taken more lessons.
I regret letting my clarinet playing slip after college. When I graduated, I was no longer a part of a Wind Ensemble, so I have no reason to play my clarinet now, and at this point, it’s been 1.5 years since I whipped that ole thing out, and I’m afraid of what would or wouldn’t happen if I tried playing again.
I also regret that when I left college, I let my fitness completely flop. I stopped running, I stopped walking, I stopped doing anything athletic. I’m trying to get back into running now, but it would have been a lot easier if I hadn’t quit.
I regret spending so much time fighting with my brother when we were kids. It turns out that he’s a really cool guy, and we get along really well. I wasted a lot of years arguing with him (and driving my mom up the wall).
I regret not taking up the opportunities to study abroad in undergrad. I could have had some amazing adventures and gone to some incredible places.
I regret the outfit I wore in my second grade school picture.
I regret not complaining to my teacher when she docked me points on my state project because she didn’t believe that Laura Ingalls Wilder lived in Missouri. I was too afraid of conflict to bring it up to her, so I just complain about it now.
There were some that I thought of immediately, but I can’t call those regrets. When I was in undergrad, I transferred to a state school, leaving my private university for the University of Iowa. After that semester, I went back to Concordia University Ann Arbor, but I can’t regret going to Iowa. I met my best friend, Hope, there, and I had really fantastic classes. I know if I had stuck around there, I would have gotten an incredible education, and there is a small part of me that regrets not sticking it out there, but I’m also glad I went back to CUAA.
I think these are the biggest regrets I can come up with. I’ve made silly little mistakes, probably once a day, but each time I learn something, so I can’t really regret it. I try not to focus on the mistakes I’ve made and the regrets I have because that takes away from what I have now. But it was fun to think about what I’m actually regretting in life. There isn’t a whole lot.
Image taken from Flickr “Facepalm“
An Ink and Fire Faith 